Sabbatical

Yea for new backgrounds. Mom and I finally figured out that you have to copy the code from bottom to top, instead of top to bottom, in order to get it to work. So in case you didn't know, now you do. We can all be part of the "in" crowd together. =]

Dax chastised me for not having written in a while. I had no witty comebacks, because it was perfectly true. I have been all too lax in writing. So since I took an hour and a bit to change the background, I figured I'd take three minutes and tell you what I've been up to.

First off, physical therapy is actually fun. Especially when they hook the electrodes up to your back and zap you with electricity while you're laying on a heating pad. It's basically like getting a massage. Maybe I should preface this with saying I hurt my back pretty badly two and a half weeks ago. I went to the doctor. He referred me to physical therapy. I go there twice a week, and they stick little pads on my back and shock me. They also make me do funny looking exercises (like walking sideways on a treadmill--try that at a gym and see if you get any funny looks), but they seem to be working, so I'm not complaining. Also, they recommend that I keep swimming (which helps, I think--except for the breaststroke. Right now that's not an option. Soon though), and one of them suggested I try walking in the deep end of the pool. This requires the use of a funny little belt-like flotation device, and the ability to laugh at yourself. Because while everyone else is swimming laps you're trying to walk through the water. And it actually works, you feel like you're going on a jog but at the most ridiculously slow pace ever. It's like seeing yourself forced to be in slow motion. So it was fun AND funny. Good times.

Other than that it's been lots of school work. The end of the semester is coming up and I have a bunch of projects and papers due. It's been a challenge just to keep them all straight in my head, and my poor little palmy appears to have died, so I have reverted back to using the paper calendars that seem to help me keep somewhat organized. I'm trying to think how old palmy was. 5 years? I think so. He finally gave up the ghost. Maybe I'll get a handy phone/Palm like Rachel has.

I'm trying to think what else. I finally folded my laundry today. I washed it on Monday. I've sort of just been picking clothes out of the basket for the past couple of days. I blame my back hurting. But today I dumped the remainder of the contents onto my bed (which I made, along with cleaning the rest of my room, thank you) and got them all put away. You wouldn't think it would be that hard to get your laundry folded, but it was a rough beginning of the week and I just wasn't home long enough to do it. Or, if I was home, I was staying up until 1am to finish a paper I had due. Anyhow, I'll be getting my break soon.

Can I just say, the weather was really pretty today! It was rainy, but the sun kept peeking out and the clouds were whispey and chubby and dark and white, and we just got a really good combination of everything. Clouds. They're fun.

Oh! So now I'm committed to going camping this summer, because I took a small portion of my tax returns and put them back into circulation in the economy by purchasing a camping sleeping bag. A Real one. According to my friend April, the girl in the camping section, and the tag on my bag I can sleep out in 20 degree (Fahrenheit) weather and still be alive in the morning. It was really kind of funny, buying the bag. I brought April with me because she's very outdoorsy and goes camping and backpacking all the time, so she knows what she's talking about. So with her and the girl that works in the camping section together telling me all the different features of the different sleeping bags--I just had to laugh about how little I knew about sleeping bags. They were like "Do you want to be able to sleep out in 30 degree weather, or 20 degree weather?" I wanted to respond "Who in their right mind would ever sleep out in weather that cold?!" but I resisted the temptation, knowing that there are lots of people in the world that do things like that. They had some sleeping bags there for people that do even crazier things, like try and climb Mount Everest, etc. I politely denied that I would ever try it. At least, not in the lifetime of my first official sleeping bag. I mean, lets be honest, if Al's Sporting Goods hadn't been having a sale for USU students, I would've gone to Wal-Mart and bought the one that gave the best appearance of coziness and hallelujah-you're-still-alive-in-the-morning-ness. When they had me get down on the floor and climb into the mummy bag and they zipped me up in it, and asked me all these questions about how I fit in it, I giggled. As for my back, the girl in the store said I should just get one of those bed floaties that they sell with the pool and summer stuff. She said they work better than the blue pads, and they're easier to carry around. If I can't find one, I'm pretty sure I still have a blow-up dragon somewhere. The point it, always trust the girl in the camping section of the sports store. That's all I have to say about that.